Greg Prichard: Mitchell Moses needs to fire if NSW are any hope in Origin II

It was 1998 - 25 years ago for the mathematically challenged (like myself).

Queensland had won the first game with a try right at the death, coming from 23-18 down to win 24-23 at what was then known as Sydney Football Stadium.

It was the sort of heartbreaking finish to a game for the Blues that the team and their fans have been forced to get used to over the years.

You know, like game one of the current series, when NSW led 18-16 inside the last 10 minutes at Adelaide Oval, playing with 13 men against 12 due to a sin-binning, and got mowed down by not just one late Maroons try, but two, for a 26-18 loss.

Queensland are never dead - the truest words ever uttered about Origin.

Anyway, the Blues headed north for game two at Suncorp Stadium and won easily, 26-10. It was one of the greatest NSW wins in Origin history, spearheaded by a superb performance from superstar halfback Andrew Johns.

The Blues, coached by Tom Raudonikis, didn't go on to win the series. Numerous changes to the team forced by illness and injury were a major disruption and even though they were playing at home in the decider they went down 19-4 to the Wayne Bennett-coached Maroons.

Apart from Johns, included in the team that went to Brisbane and won that must-win game two were Brad Fittler, Laurie Daley, Geoff Toovey, Paul Harragon, Andrew Ettingshausen and Steve Menzies.

The Queensland team was pretty handy too. Darren Lockyer, Steve Renouf, Kevin Walters, Allan Langer, Shane Webcke, Gorden Tallis and Tonie Carroll were all there.

It was the year the game came back together after the 1997 season saw the Australian Rugby League and breakaway Super League competitions go head-to-head.

Several other times - in 1988, 2010 and 2016 - NSW have gone to Brisbane to try to win game two to keep the series alive and each time they have lost.

Now, all things are relative, but it's clear neither the current Queensland team nor the NSW side is as good as those 1998 outfits.

So the challenge confronting the Blues is no less difficult.

Oh how it would be great to be able to turn back the clock and put Fittler and Johns in the actual team for next Wednesday's must-win game In Brisbane, instead of Fittler as coach and Johns as one of his assistants.

But unfortunately even the greatest players can't beat time and it's been many years since they retired after doing what only the rarest of players could do on the field.

Instead, what we've got is Mitchell Moses at halfback and Jarome Laui at five-eighth for the Blues going up against Daly Cherry-Evans and Cameron Munster in the same positions for the Maroons.

The Queensland pair have got the edge on paper.

Again, all things being relative, Moses and Laui don't have to be as good as Johns at halfback and Laurie Daley at five-eighth were in that chockful of superstars game two, 1998, but it's still going to take enormous efforts from both of them if NSW are to win.

At least one of them is going to have to come up with pretty much a career-best game. Probably Moses.

I'm not thrilled by the selection of Moses at halfback.

As I wrote here last week, I would've had Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds at halfback and Cronulla's Nicho Hynes at five-eighth.

Hynes is a player who bobs up on both sides of the field in attack anyway and the vastly experienced Reynolds would have been able to make it easier for Hynes, in what would've been his starting debut in Origin, by taking the lead early on while his halves partner eased into the game.

It was ridiculous how Hynes was used in game one of the series, left to warm the bench for so long before only coming on as a virtual emergency with 12 minutes to go to replace a centre in Tom Trbojevic who had been forced off after being hurt in a tackle.

Sure, Hynes was down on form in Cronulla's loss to Melbourne last weekend, but he had plenty of teammates down on form at the same time.

They lost 54-10, so the blame had to be shared far and wide.

And form last weekend would've had little or nothing to do with the decision to go with Moses - and not Hynes or Reynolds - at halfback for Origin II.

The NSW brains trust knew all they had to know about what those players brought to the table.

Another game wasn't going to tell them any more, so surely they had made their decision ahead of last weekend's round and were relying on their preferred choice not getting injured after that.

I thought Hynes deserved his chance in the halves, but that's gone for now at least. So what does Mitchell need to do for NSW to win?

He can't drift in and out of the game like he has sometimes done with Parramatta. He has to be a visible force right from the start of the game until the very end and produce a well-controlled and ultimately dominant performance.

And his kicking game has got to be not just good, or even very good, it's got to be tremendous. He must pin the Maroons into the corners to start their sets and create genuine try-scoring opportunities with his bombs and grubbers, conjuring up valuable repeat sets at the very least.

He has got to be the main man, simple as that.

MORE IN SPORT:

To see more stories and read today's paper download the Newcastle Herald news app here.